A Distortion of Truth
by Sync-chronize
Summary: When Maggie is taken by the Volturi away from Siobhan and her Irish Coven, Siobhan goes to the Cullens and seeks out their help. It seems that the Volturi are planning on making their move again, and this time they need Maggie's particular gift to help them achieve their ends. Where will this new battle among vampires lead to, and just who will end up being involved?
1. Chapter 1 - Siobhan Pays A Call

**Author's Note : Personally, I like to think that the _Twilight_ ship hasn't officially sailed. I myself am not a particular fan of the series (all except for the last movie, which I thought was decent), but I do think that it has _some_ good things in it. For instance, the variety of the vampires and all of their powers is interesting, and easy to work with when writing a fanfiction. Now, trust me, I really understand if not a lot of people might be willing to read this fanfiction, but I'd personally like to try getting it out there regardless.**

 **Generally speaking, I don't much like to make OCs if I can avoid it, because then it wouldn't really be a complete fanfiction, but instead it'd be more or less like my imputing myself into the story. For _Twilight_ however, that's easily avoidable since Stephanie Meyer's provided enough decent characters to write a story with.**

 **For this fanfiction, I will try to keep to everyone's characters as best I can, although some developments will naturally have to take place. These developments will be justified, however, and can hopefully be accepted as "realistic". For some of the characters though, I can see how it might be quite a stretch.**

 **The timeline for this story doesn't change anything about what happened in Twilight, except of course to mention that there are some things that I'll assume our characters haven't noticed—and you'll see why after a while. Since my focus won't be on the Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle, or focusing on the Jacob-Renesmee relationship, it makes it a bit easier for me to manipulate what's going to happen. The story's official starting point is around four years after the series ended.**

 **Well, with all that finally out of the way, let's get started!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Siobhan Pays A Call**

Everyone knew that the Cullens were an almost perfect vampire family. Not only to humans, but to other vampires as well. They had love, a strong enough bond in itself, an acute control of their thirst, a permanent residence, and, most of all, trust in each other, the most prized quality amongst vampires. Without this very key element, clans would continue to run rampant across the earth as they done in the past, slaughtering many and even killing amongst themselves. It would only lead to death and destruction in large numbers, neither of them prized by even the most sadistic of vampires. And so, with this quality in evidence, it was hardly a surprise that even 'vampire royalty' like the Volturi envied them this. Still though, after their last confrontation with the Cullens about four years back, they hadn't been met with any more trouble, and the Volturi had kept their distance. As far as Alice, the family psychic, could see into the future, the Volturi wouldn't be interrupting the peace of their lives anytime soon.

That is, until the summer before Bella Cullen, newest addition to the family's, twenty-third birthday would have come. Usually, the Cullens didn't much bother keeping track of birthdays, since, obviously, vampires didn't age. Bella still looked the same as when she was eighteen, nearing her nineteenth birthday. But since they lived near Forks, and encountered Bella's father, Charlie, very often, they continued putting up the front just so that nothing would seem more 'off' about them than it already did.

 _Better four years than forty_ , Bella thought as she drove back home from seeing Charlie on a cloudy—well, most days were cloudy in Forks, anyway—day in June. Because, after all, forty years from then she would still be alive and well, looking the same as she always had, but chances were that Charlie might be dead. It was just as Bella's husband and mate, Edward Cullen, had always told her: _"In a few decades, everyone you ever knew will soon be dead. Problem solved."_ In a way, that was true, since it meant that they could give up the charade of pretending that Bella was still semi-human, and that Renesmee Cullen, Bella's daughter, was her adopted niece or something; but, on the other hand, Bella knew that she would miss both of her parents, Charlie and Renee, terribly. She had chosen the life of a vampire though, and she wasn't about to back out on it.

Parking their newest expensive car, a black jaguar imposed on her by Alice, in the garage, Bella headed inside into the main house, knowing that Edward would be waiting for her, as always.

"How was it?" he greeted, immediately embracing her and planting a kiss on her lips as she entered the main room on the second floor.

Bella shook her head, wondering how to answer. "Um, it was good, I guess you could say. This time Leah wasn't there to start complaining about my stink anymore, so it was a better occasion." She quickly returned Edward's kiss, and then glanced around them at the empty room.

Lately, the entire house had been getting emptier and emptier. Now that Renesmee was growing up, about to enter her sixth year—her last one ageing, actually, seeing as it was likely that she'd stop ageing altogether seven years after her birth—and now physically at fifteen years of age, she was making use of her newfound freedom and going to see Jacob Black more on the reservation instead of vice-versa. Rosalie Cullen, who was like a second mother to her, didn't complain much about this because she and her husband, Emmett, were off somewhere touring the world on their hundredth honeymoon or so. As for Alice and her mate, Jasper, they had gone up to Alaska to visit the Cullens' closest relatives, the Denalis. It seemed that Garrett, Kate Denali's mate and the newest addition to their clan, was having trouble adjusting to their eating habits, and Jasper was the best one to try and help him with that, having had sufficient trouble himself adjusting to an only-animal-blood diet. As for Carlisle and Esme Cullen, everyone's 'parents', they were still around in Forks, but Carlisle spent most of his time working at the hospital and Esme was currently studying to become a nurse, hoping to aid Carlisle in his quest to help people one day. She felt as though she had finally gotten her thirst under control as well, and was ready to go into the medical field; the Cullens couldn't have been prouder of her.

More or less, that left Edward and Bella alone at the house for most of the day, and while she usually would have appreciated the privacy, Bella found herself missing the members of her family—especially Alice. Edward, on the other hand, hardly noticed their absence, having been separated from them many times before in the past.

But, because he couldn't read what Bella was thinking at will like he could with other vampires, he had to ask her directly what was bothering her.

"It's nothing," Bella assured him, sitting down and picking up her latest read, _The Tempest_ , by William Shakespeare, from where she had left it on the coffee table.

"Are you sure?" Edward probed, sitting down next to her and beginning to twirl around a lock of her hair.

"Yes," Bella replied. "I'm sure. I just…sometimes feel like I'm still making most of this up, like I need everyone to be here to clarify what I know to be real. I…feel better to have Alice and especially Renesmee around. I don't really think I want to let her go just yet to…live her own life."

Edward nodded, understanding. He wasn't particularly the most partial to Renesmee's choice of mate, since Jacob was a werewolf and all, but he'd seen it coming and had plenty of time to adjust to the idea. Perhaps to Jacob it was all in the past, but Edward could still remember a time when he and the werewolf had fought over Bella, when they'd both loved her. It was still just a little too fresh in Edward's mind, especially considering that four years meant almost nothing to him who'd lived over a century.

He was about to tell Bella that, now that the treaty between themselves and the Quileutes was rendered null and void, they could wander onto the reservation with permission anytime they wanted, but suddenly he was interrupted by sensing two presences nearby. Well, they weren't really _presences_ , they were two far for that, but he recognized the thoughts that he heard in his mind, and immediately tensed up.

"What is it?" Bella asked, not used to Edward freezing like Alice usually did when she experienced a vision.

"Two vampires, headed this way," Edward said. "I think they're from the Irish Coven."

"Were they invited?"

"No." And hence the reason why Edward was tense in the first place. Not that he had anything against the vampires who had once been allies to them in their time of need, but he didn't know the Irish Coven as well as Carlisle did, and would have known if they were actually invited. Caution, it seemed, was the best reaction, considering that their territory was now being invaded.

Barely a few minutes later, because the vampires were moving with great speed, they arrived at the front door of the Cullen house. Stepping inside they stomped up the stairs, not particularly subtle. Once they noticed only Edward and Bella in the room, the leader, Siobhan, blinked in surprise, and then turned to her mate, Liam.

"We apologize for intruding like this," she said, her Irish accent thick. "We want to see Carlisle."

"He's not free right now, but you're free to wait," Edward said, maintaining politeness, despite still feeling a hint of suspicion. Neither vampire was giving anything away with their thoughts, meaning that they were cautious so that he couldn't read them, and thus he only became more suspicious. "Why have you come?"

Siobhan shook her head. "There is much to explain, and I think that Carlisle needs to hear this. We will wait until he returns." So spoken, both she and Liam took a seat on the couch opposite Bella to be polite, both inclining their heads so as to greet her.

It was two hours later that Esme arrived home, and then another two hours until Carlisle was relieved from his duties at the hospital. Once they saw that Siobhan and Liam were there, they both welcomed them kindly and then sat down to talk.

"It's good to see you again," Carlisle said, nodding to the visitors.

"Yes, it's been a long time," Esme added, smiling.

"But where's Maggie?" Carlisle asked, noticing her absence. Bella and Edward had also noticed it, but when they asked earlier on, both Irish vampires had insisted that they needed to speak to Carlisle about it before anything else.

"That's what we came here for," Liam sighed, shaking his head. "I'm afraid we need your help."

"Or rather, the help of your daughter, Alice," Siobhan clarified.

"Why do you need Alice?" Carlisle asked.

Siobhan scrunched up her face in a pained way and for a moment it looked as though, if she was a human and still capable of tears, she would be crying. "We need her to find our little Maggie, to help us get her back."

"What happened?" Bella asked.

Edward was the one to answer that question, all former caution towards the Irish gone, now understanding of their circumstances. "The Volturi."

* * *

 **Author's Note :** **I know that this chapter maybe focuses on Edward and Bella a bit much for a fanfiction that's technically not supposed to be about them, but it's more of an exposition chapter, and I thought that Bella would be the best one to incorporate that through, since she was so central to all of the action in the series. From now on though, I think I can promise that we won't have as many Bella-related details in this fanfiction as in this chapter. Still, I hope that I didn't make her too unlikable, yes?**

 **Reviews, follows, and favourites all appreciated, if you want, and are definitely encouragement to keep writing this story! ^^'**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Irish Coven's Tale

**Author's Note : Ahem, well, first of all, I'd like to thank this fanfiction's first follower and reviewer, alexc1209. Truly, it's glad to see that someone's still interested in a** _ **Twilight**_ **fanfiction, and it definitely encourages me to write more! Well, this author's note is fairly (and mercifully) short, so I won't bore you anymore and just get right down to the story! Let's see what happens!~**

 **Oh, and, before I forget, I've finally got a cover image for this! Yay! ^^**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – The Irish Coven Tale**

"The Volturi?" Bella repeated, looking from Edward to the Irish vampires, neither of which contested his conclusion.

Edward nodded, keeping his eyes on Siobhan. "Now I see why you were so cautious before; you were afraid that you were being followed and you wanted to be sure to tell Carlisle before anyone else found out."

Siobhan nodded. "He is the only one we can trust, our only true friend. He and your family have stood up to the Volturi before, and so we thought that you might be able to help us this time."

"You owe us that much," Liam grumbled, attracting a glare from Siobhan. "What?" he exclaimed indignantly, managing to look both ashamed and annoyed at the same time. "You know it as well as I do! That's why we came to Carlisle in the first place!"

"Perhaps you'd better explain this to us first," Carlisle said patiently.

"They think that you're partly to blame for what happened to Maggie," Edward said casually, now reading the vampires' minds like an open book.

"Edward, stop it! What they have to tell us, they can tell us themselves!" Esme scolded.

Siobhan nodded. "Yes, thank you. However, I'm afraid it's just as your son says: both myself and Liam consider you to be responsible, to some extent. The Volturi would never have known about Maggie if…"

"If we hadn't called you to witness for us four years ago," Carlisle finished for her.

Looking only slightly more relieved at not having to state this herself, Siobhan nodded again. "Exactly. That's why we also thought that it should follow that you help us."

"We'll do the best we can, but first we need to know the specifics," Carlisle promised.

Liam sighed. "I'd better tell it then. It all started about a year ago…"

* * *

 _It was during the middle of March, nearing St. Patrick's Day, and of course that meant that the Irish were in full celebration mode. Green decorated every store window, thousands of celebration trinkets were being sold, and of course the tourists were flooding in as well. For Siobhan, who had been born and raised in medieval Ireland, this was a purely religious festivity though, but, also, an excellent opportunity for feeding._

 _"We'll go out after the parade in Dublin this year," she said, turning to Liam and Maggie who, as usual, stood behind her as the surveyed the territory. "Less noticeable that way."_

 _Liam licked his lips. "Good turnout this year. Must be cause the population's growing."_

 _"That just means more food for us then, doesn't it?" Siobhan agreed with a smile. She took in a deep breath, the smell of blood already reaching her keen nose. "Mmm, yes."_

 _"Make sure not to get carried away and start going after children or anything," Maggie warned, as usual brutally honest and vouching for "justice" much more than was necessary. Like her coven mates, she too was quite bloodthirsty when it came down to it; however, unlike the two of them, she tried to go for the "less innocent" prey. To Maggie, that meant anyone that happened to be telling a lie, and she would_ always _be able to tell. For instance, last week she had hunted down someone who had promised his wife that he loved only her, when in truth he was cheating on her with at least two other women, one of them pregnant because of him. From Maggie's viewpoint, the wretch deserved to die, and didn't deserve his funeral that came afterwards at all._

 _"Of course not. Wouldn't want to upset you, Mags," Liam said, rubbing her on the side of the head._

 _Siobhan took in another deep breath. "It'll certainly be worth remembering, this year…"_

 _How little she knew just how right she was about that statement. For, barely a day later, a message from the Volturi arrived for Siobhan. After having opened the letter and read it, the outraged vampire had quickly torn it up and then burned it to ashes, keeping its contents a secret from the rest of her coven. Two weeks later though, another letter arrived, and then another and another, until, around mid-November, a messenger from the Volturi guard, Chelsea, arrived herself. Both Liam and Maggie were surprised to see her, but Siobhan herself was just terrified. As the Irish vampire stepped forward to meet their unwelcome visitor, Maggie looked at her questioningly, suddenly sensing that something was off. Siobhan had never lied to them directly before, so she couldn't tell before, but now…_

 _"What do you want with us? We have broken no law," Siobhan declared boldly to the Volturi vampire._

 _Chelsea grinned pleasantly. "Oh, I think you know. Or haven't you told your darlings yet?"_

 _"Told us what? What is it, Siobhan?" Liam asked, moving to his mate's side._

 _Siobhan ignored him. "Leave us. I think that I've already given my answer to Aro's…_ inquiry _."_

 _"Yes, I'm afraid he was quite displeased with that," Chelsea replied with a sigh. "The least you could have done was officially write back, not just_ ignore _the messages sent. You must have quite a death wish, Siobhan; keep it up."_

 _"What's she talking about?" Liam pressed, gazing fiercely at Siobhan._

 _His red-haired mate looked worriedly back at Maggie instead of him though. "Come here, my dear," she said, extending her hand._

 _Maggie, however, hesitated in accepting it. "What's going on, Siobhan?" she asked._

 _Siobhan scrunched up her face, making an excellent show of looking as though she were about to cry. "Aro…the Volturi…they want you."_

 _Maggie blinked in surprise, and then turned to Chelsea. "Why?"_

 _Chelsea shrugged coyly. "To be_ honest _, I'm not exactly sure why. All I know is that Aro's going to be conducting a series of questioning, and he'll need someone like you to make sure that everyone's telling the truth."_

 _"Can't he just look into their minds and find out for himself?" Liam spat, now hostile._

 _Chelsea's smile dropped. "Aro can read minds," she said, stating a fact that practically every vampire in the world knew by now. "But he can't tell for certain which thoughts are the truth and which are not; people can often repeat falsehoods to themselves so many times that they become more prominent than the truth sometimes, even in mind reading. That's why he needs_ her _." And she pointed a sharp-nailed finger at Maggie, smiling beckoningly. "I'm sure that you'll be quite honoured to have her render her services unto us."_

 _"No!" Siobhan and Liam both exclaimed at once. "We will not let it happen!" Liam snarled._

 _Chelsea again dropped her smile, this time looking more annoyed than downcast. "I see. I thought as much, but Aro insisted that we do this 'diplomatically' the first time. We'll be back for her later, though." And before either vampire could ask what she meant by 'they', Chelsea had already taken off running, but neither Liam nor Siobhan went to chase after her. Instead, they glanced at the petite vampire between them, her face twisted in an unpleasantly sour sort of way, her body tense._

 _"I won't let them take me," she said after a while of standing very still, causing both adult vampires worry. "Siobhan," she called, and the red-haired vampire shifted accordingly. "You may have lied to me this time, but I forgive you, now that I know what it was all about. But promise me this: even if something that might separate us comes up again, you won't ever lie to me about it or keep it a secret from me."_

 _Siobhan nodded vigorously, ashamed of herself for breaking their trust of honesty with each other, and not able to meet Liam's eyes, which she was sure were looking just as betrayed at that moment. "I promise," she choked out._

 _And by the look of certainty on Maggie's face, she knew that the girl knew that she meant it. No more lies._

 _Five months later, at the end of April, Chelsea proved just how honest_ she _was as well, as she, accompanied by Jane and Demetri, came to claim the prize they originally thought theirs: Maggie. With Demetri to track them down, there was nowhere on earth that the Irish Coven could hide, and so they were preparing to confront the Volturi instead. Having shifted locations to northern Scotland, thinking themselves more isolated than before, naturally they were found, Liam and Siobhan read for a showdown in order to protect their little treasure._

 _But with Jane's power at work, it didn't last long, the adult vampires having no choice but to surrender so as not to be killed. Maggie herself insisted that she be taken, but only as a result of Chelsea's power coming into play, working around Maggie's bond to justice: because her bond to her own coven couldn't be disrupted as easily by Chelsea's power, instead the Volturi vampire persuaded Maggie to see justice as joining the Volturi so as to save her coven from the worst fate of death. In the end, all three Volturi guards proved effective, and Maggie was gone._

* * *

"And that's the way of it, _all_ of it," Siobhan concluded after Liam described the events fully, sniffing slightly and blinking rapidly, as if trying to bring herself into focus.

"So they took her. And she's in Volterra now?" Carlisle clarified.

"As far as we know," Liam said. "We haven't gone there ourselves to find out. After Maggie left, we fell apart, going mad trying to come up with a way to get her out of there without bringing the wrath of the Volturi on us…"

"As it is, we may've already done enough damage, refusing to hand her over in the first place," Siobhan lamented.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Esme assured them. "We would have done the same for anyone in our family." Of course she was thinking of both Edward and Bella when she said that, and especially Alice as well.

Liam shook his head. "We don't know what exactly it is they're making her do, or what Aro's got in mind, but we're certain that our little Maggie would want no part in it if she had another choice."

"Of course not," Bella agreed. No one who had another choice, except of course a sadistic few, would want to be in the Volturi, right?

"What I still don't understand is what you meant earlier by saying that _we're_ responsible for it," Edward said testily. "Just because he saw her once that day doesn't prove anything about his knowing about Maggie's powers."

"It isn't hard to guess how he might've found out," Siobhan sighed. "Aro would never have known about Maggie at all if not for that incident, it's true, but ever since then it's obvious that he's been doing his research. There are others there that he would've wanted: Kate, Zafrina, Benjamin, and especially members of your own family. Just because a battle didn't break out that day doesn't mean that he isn't preparing himself for another one soon enough. Maggie may only be the first one he's taken."

It was a heavy statement that hung over their heads, but only because of how probably it seemed. Edward, who was the only one who could read Aro's mind and thus knew his personality best, had to admit that it sounded exactly like Aro to go after a prize once he set his mind to it, nevermind the time it would take to get it. For all they knew, Maggie really _was_ only Aro's first step forward; too bad they didn't have Alice there to keep an eye on him and find out what he was planning.

"So," Edward breathed, leaning back as he regarded the two Irish vampires, "what do you expect us to do?"

Siobhan and Liam glanced at each other, and then at the Cullens directly. "We want you to help us get her back."

* * *

 **Author's Note : Just a little bit of backstory on the Irish Coven, which I think was necessary for this story, just to give us some exposure as to what's going on. I'm not going to explain what Aro's "big plan" is just yet, but let's just say that: A) you'll need to have read the books to be able to figure it out before I outline it, but it's ok if you didn't, and B) it is _big_. I wanted to build an exciting fanfiction around this after all, and not just focusing on romance alone, so I hope you're excited for that portion of it as well.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favourites are appreciated! Let's give this fanfiction some love! 3**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Decision to Go

**Author's Note : Ok, so now that we've got the introduction and the back-story out of the way, we can finally focus on some more plot-related issues. So far we haven't really encountered much, but we will in the future—it just takes a little patience is all.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – The Decision to Go**

"If you think anyone can just waltz into Volterra and demand that the Volturi reconsider their actions, then you're out of your minds," Edward said heartlessly.

"Edward!" Carlisle and Esme scolded simultaneously.

"I can tell what they're thinking: they want you to go and talk to Aro, because they know that you and he were once quite close. They think that if you use enough reasoning and logic like we did with Renesmee, you can bring Maggie back. I just think they should know that it's not going to work this time: once Aro's got something he wants in his possession, he's not letting go of it." Then, to the Irish vampires: "Do you think that if he got hold of me or Alice or Bella, that he'd let us go just because Carlisle would ask it of him? Absolutely not."

Siobhan and Liam both became stiffer, if possible, their faces distorted in grief, but not defeat.

"We weren't planning on asking you to fight, Carlisle," Siobhan said carefully. "We only wanted to try and see if he might listen to you, see reason. Or, if not, then at least to know what he's going to do with Maggie, or if we could get her back somehow."

"We cannot be parted from her for long," Liam agreed. "Ever since Maggie came into our lives, she's been like a child, the one we could never have." Saying this, he cast a saddened look at Siobhan. "And we would do anything to stay with her, even offer up our services to the Volturi. The problem is that they Volturi would never accept us both; Siobhan, probably, but never myself, with no special powers."

"He's exaggerating," Siobhan interjected, casting a glare at her mate. Because, while Carlisle and Liam strongly believed that Siobhan had the power to project her thoughts and desires into becoming realistic outcomes, she herself did _not_ believe it, or have any idea on how to control it if she had. In fact, until the present date, she hadn't even tried willing the Volturi to give Maggie back to them, for fear of false hope just devastating her even more.

Liam shook his head. "Anyway, you're our only hope at this point. Please, Carlisle, help us."

"I will try," Carlisle answered after a pause, attracting a reproachful glare from Edward, which he ignored. "But I cannot promise anything. Aro and I may have been friends long ago, but I'm certain that he still hasn't forgiven me for the event four years ago. That day, he could have gained something, I'm sure of it, but we were able to prevent him. In all of history, I believe that we're the only coven to stand up to him, and for that he may already see us as a threat. So far he has let us live in peace, but our safety is not guaranteed if we meddle in affairs which aren't ours. As such, I will not risk the safety of my family to extreme measures. Speaking strictly for myself, however, I am willing to do anything to bring Maggie back to you, even until the cost of my life."

"Carlisle!" Esme exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock at her husband's declaration.

"It wouldn't be right any other way, after what they've done for us," Carlisle said, and then glanced significantly at Edward. "And I won't deny my friends my help when they haven't denied me theirs."

Sighing, Esme was about to speak, when suddenly Edward interjected, reading her mind, as always.

"No. If anyone's going with Carlisle, it has to be me; I'm the only one who can tell what Aro's thinking, and that way it'll be easier to find Maggie."

Both Siobhan and Liam looked at Edward in surprise, shocked that he would offer himself up to help get Maggie back after just expressing his objection to associate with the matter in the first place.

"T-thank you," Siobhan managed, still a bit dazed. Liam nodded in agreement.

"I'm going too," Bella announced.

"No!" Edward snapped, his fists clenching.

Bella glared at him with equal ferocity. "You'll need around as well in case Jane or anyone else will try anything. Also, I'm the only one whose immune to all powers, so what danger is there for me anyway?"

Edward snarled. "Plenty."

"We'll need an excuse for why we're going," Carlisle said, quickly trying to steer the subject in another direction before Esme offered herself up or Edward and Bella continued to battle it out, eventually coming to the conclusion that they would both go anyway.

"That's true," Edward said, calming down just a bit. "We can't go there without good reason, or Aro will suspect something. We need something to say."

Liam shifted uncomfortably. "Well, hasn't he always been interested…in that daughter of yours?"

"Renesmee?" Bella breathed, suddenly as hostile as Edward had been.

Liam nodded, trying hard to ignore the shocked and confused look that Siobhan was giving him as well. "You could tell Aro that you're there as an act of goodwill to inform him on her development; he'll be wanting to know about it anyway, in a year's time."

"It's a good reason," Carlisle agreed, "but we're not bringing her along."

"Absolutely not," Bella hissed.

Liam held up his hands defensively. "No need to, seeing as your memory of her will be enough."

Carlisle nodded. "It's settled then; we have our reason."

"Are either of you going to come along?" Edward asked, already knowing the answer.

"Like you said, there'd be suspicion if we went there," Siobhan sighed, sounding very much like she wanted to go regardless. "Instead, we thought it best to stay here. If you don't manage to bring Maggie back, well…there won't be a point in us going home anyway?"

"We've made up our minds that there's no place to call home without her, and so we'll be wandering around the world as nomads from now on, if that's the case. Probably find our sanctuary up in the Himalayas or something," Liam sniffed.

"You're always welcome in our home," Esme encouraged, and then she reached for Carlisle's hand. "Please…be careful."

Carlisle smiled reassuringly, kissing her knuckles. "We will be."

* * *

The decision to go was not well-received by anyone who was there to object. Certainly not by Renesmee or by Jacob, or even by Seth, who had taken to hanging around vampires almost as much as he did werewolves, and would usually have agreed with anything that Edward said or did. In fact, the only person who _didn't_ object to their leaving was Charlie, and it was because he, still in the dark about the world of vampires, thought that they were merely going on a vacation in Italy.

"You were there once before, weren't you Bells?" he asked, somewhat reluctant to even mention that dark period in their history.

"Yeah, that time it was more of a—yeah," Bella replied.

"Need-to-know?" Charlie guessed.

Bella nodded.

It was the day of their departure, and the departing Cullens had already said goodbye to their vampire family and the werewolves. Sam and his pack knew to leave Siobhan and Liam alone in their hunting, though they warned them to stay away from forks and La Push at all costs.

"Not that they'd want to go hunting much nowadays anyway," Edward had muttered, sensing their intention to starve themselves until they at least got word of what was happening to Maggie. Privately, Edward thought that it couldn't be anything bad, but only because Aro knew how to protect his treasures, and would most definitely want to protect Maggie after all the trouble he'd gone through to get her. Also, he had his own purpose for going to Volterra: to find out what Aro's plan was and why he needed Maggie, because, from what the Irish vampires had described, it couldn't be anything too good. This intention he didn't reveal even to Bella, because he knew that she would probably want to get in and out of Volterra as quickly as possible; after all, as a human, she had been the one to feel the most terror during her first visit there.

Not that she ever thought that she'd be going back again…

"Do we even have a plan?" she asked Edward once they were seated on the airplane, both of them successfully avoiding the fascinated stares that some people gave them. Carlisle, meanwhile, was seated by the window, gazing outside and not at all concerned with the conversations going on around him.

"Not exactly," Edward admitted, not any closer to figuring something out than he knew that Carlisle was. Both minds were racing though, going through scenarios and trying out possibilities. "It won't be hard finding out about what's happening to Maggie or where she's being kept, but there's no telling how difficult it might be to get her out. I know Carlisle's determined to do it at any cost, but believe me, Bella, neither of us is foolish enough to try something that won't work."

"So then…you don't think we could get her out?" Bella asked, only clarifying what she'd already guessed to be the case.

"Carlisle isn't sure, and neither am I, but a frontal assault on Volterra has never been made before, so we don't exactly have anything to work with regarding histories or getaways. It's an ancient city built and governed entirely by vampires, so there's probably routes and secrets that we don't know about. Still though, we can't just do what we want. There are still humans around and the sun's always shining there, unlike in Forks, so we've got to be careful unless we've got a death wish."

Bella, if she was human, would have felt a lump in her throat at the mere memory of that incident, when Edward had gone to the Volturi with the sincere wish to die. It was the nightmare that luckily neither of them ever had to wake up from, seeing as they didn't sleep and all.

"All I do know," Edward continued, "is that once we get there, we're going to be on their territory, and keep in mind that they're in charge. Aro, now that he knows that you can expand your shield, may even ask you to let him read your mind, or even just test out your shield by expanding it to him against Jane or something. He already knows the full extent of my power, but yours is one that he'll want to test out. Also, with regards to our excuse regarding Renesmee, I doubt that he'll believe it fully, no matter how sincere we make our thoughts to be. The most recent thoughts are the ones he can see the most clearly, so I'm working on making it seem as though that's our early intention. Because Renesmee interests him so much, hopefully he won't delve too deep into our minds and history, because then he'll know about our encounters with the Irish coven. Or, though even a lesser chance, he may prefer us to tell him things directly, just so everyone can hear. No matter what though, he'll be suspicious, so we may need to purposely extend our visit to Volterra, made it seem as though it _is_ just a visit to placate him."

Nodding, Bella stared determinedly ahead, trying to imagine how things might turn out in the future. She wondered briefly if Alice, though far away in Alaska, could see their futures even now, and if so, why she hadn't called with news or something by now, like she usually would have. Or was there nothing remarkable to tell, like maybe that they wouldn't succeed but wouldn't die either, or that, perchance, they managed to get Maggie back somehow?

 _Alice's visions are subjective, and the future can always change,_ Bella reminded herself. It was maddening, sometimes, but perhaps not for anyone as much as for Alice, who had to deal with it all the time.

Still though, it would be nice to know for once just what exactly they were getting themselves into, and what the outcome would be. Because, for now, the future looked bleak, and not at all encouraging.

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 **Author's Note : Well, now I think that I've focused on the Cullens enough, don't you? It's time to move on to the Volturi's side of things, and see what's _really_ going on with Maggie. Seeing as she is the main character and all, I've debated introducing her until now, but in the end figured that it'd be best, seeing as her capture is the most important starting point. Anyway, in the next chapter, be prepared to meet her.**

 **Reviews/follows/favourites are always well-appreciated! ^^**


	4. Chapter 4 - Maggie in Volterra

**Author's Note : Whoo, sorry for the late/slow update, but since this fanfiction hasn't been getting as much attention as my other one, _There's Such A Sad Love_ , I'm not as motivated, you know? I still do want to write it in general though, and so now, finally, I've come out with the fourth chapter! As promised, this chapter won't have anything of the Cullens, but will be focusing in on Maggie and the Volturi. Ok, let's go! ^^**

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 **Chapter 4 - Maggie in Volterra**

It took a week for it to happen, but Aro finally sensed that it was happening: his new prized jewel, Maggie, was breaking down. "Ah, how wonderful," he singsong, majestically soothing through his hair as though he deserved congratulations for what he thought he had accomplished.

"What is?" Sulpicia, his wife and most treasured soulmate inquired, mimicking Aro's actions and soothing his hair as well. They were currently seated in Aro's private library, Sulpicia having wanted to leave the tower again and Aro, ever ready to indulge her, allowed it.

"The new recruit we've brought in," Aro explained, knowing and pitying that Sulpicia wasn't privy to more information than she was, but knowing that there was no help for it, since he'd rather have her ignorant and protected rather than all-knowing and yet constantly at risk. Unbeknownst to him however, Sulpicia wasn't as uninformed as she appeared. "She is finally beginning to succumb to the will of the greater good."

" _Your_ greater good, you mean," Sulpicia cooed, planting a kiss on her love's forehead. "And I am pleased to hear it, although…it does seem strange to me that she would be conquered by her thirst in only a week—I thought she was an older vampire, not a newborn."

"She isn't, but the Irish have quite a… _legendary_ bloodlust," Aro breathed, closing his eyes to bask in the moment. "I was right to deprive her of it as a means of getting her to cooperate."

"Where is she now?" murmured Sulpicia.

"In the dungeons, under watch—where else?" Aro murmured back.

Sulpicia shrugged. "You know best, Aro. That is what the whole world knows by now."

His ego was high enough already, and yet it always seemed to grow when Sulpicia was around. It was at times like these that Aro remembered what had attracted him to her in the first place, despite her having been a human when they first met: she possessed every quality he could ever want in a wife.

"Yes, as they should," he agreed, and reached out for another vast book of knowledge, content to pour over its contents with his wife, as always.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the dungeons, as mentioned, Maggie was sitting on a chair that, for a human, would've been uncomfortable, unmoving and steadily crumbling on the inside, as Aro had predicted. It had been a week since she had left the Irish coven, abandoned her ties to Siobhan, and arrived in Volterra. Naturally, she had been presented to the head three vampires, Marcus, Caius, and Aro first, but then had refused to help them once Aro had explained to her his plans.

"We have need of you, my dear, _for the greater good_ ," Aro had stressed. But Maggie had known that he was lying—or at least _half_ -lying, since his words, in his opinion, were quite sincere—and refused. As a result, she had found herself locked up in a vast dungeon underneath Volterra, two guards constantly taking shifts in watching her.

Maggie knew what they were depriving her of and why. Her increasingly burning throat was a testament to what she was beginning to desire more and more, perhaps eventually up to the point that she might _offer_ to help her. But if her thirst was great, her will was just as strong, for she refused to so much as move or meet the dangerous red eyes of the guards who watched her. Most often, Chelsea came by and tried to use her powerful influence of manipulating relationships over Maggie, but since Maggie's greatest tie to the truth could not be removed from her, as it also contributed to her special ability, thus far the female vampire had been unsuccessful in binding Maggie to the Volturi.

"Doesn't matter," she had sniffed on the sixth night, the last time that Maggie had seen her. "Because if you won't give out first, your thirst certainly will."

Currently, on the seventh day, Maggie was being watched by Felix and Demetri, the former on the inside of her cell, and the latter on the outside. Felix's large frame took up almost the entire height of the room, blocking out almost all of the dim torchlight from outside. Not that this mattered, though—they were both vampires, so they could both see. Demetri, however, on the outside was getting restless, not having had a drink himself for almost two days.

"This is so useless!" he snarled, baring his teeth. "How long are they going to keep up down here?!"

"Until Miss Lucky Charms here decides to join us," Felix replied calmly. Having been around the Volturi a good deal longer than Demetri, he had been better taught to deal with his thirst than his fellow guard. Demetri, though also "civilized" when it came to his thirst, was far more used to having free reign over the blood he wanted, as he had with Amun's clan in Egypt, than with the Volturi's practices.

Demetri rolled his eyes. "Wonder how long _that's_ going to take—so far it's not working, even though she should have given up by now."

"Can't be helped that Siobhan spoiled her. It's about time that she learned a few proper manners," Felix replied, equally as tempted to beat some sense into Maggie rather than wait around for her to resign herself to them, although, obviously, that wouldn't do anyone any good. Aro's strict instructions were that _no one_ was to touch Maggie, unless of course she tried to escape.

"At the very least she might say something—I can list out millions of people that already would have," Demetri muttered, referring to both humans and vampires alike.

"Starving her is enough of a punishment for now, wouldn't you say?" a mystic voice sounded from down the hallway, causing both Demetri and Felix to straighten up. They had expected someone to come down there sooner or later, because, after all, they _had_ been on a shift for almost ten hours, but it wasn't another guard who came down there to relieve them of their shifts. No, not at all, because Sulpicia most definitely _wasn't_ a guard.

"Has Master Aro sent you down here?" Demetri thought to ask, although of course he kept his voice respectful. The wives, Sulpicia and Athenodora, merited nothing _but_ respect, or else the consequences would surely be dire. As such, even if they were irritated and impatient, both guards could still act like saints when around one of the wives.

Smiling, Sulpicia lowered the hood of her cape, coming to a standstill in front of Demetri, who was blocking the door to Maggie's cell. "I wish to see our 'new recruit', as Aro called her," she said gently. "Stand aside."

Demetri did so without hesitation, knowing that an order from Sulpicia was as good as an order from Aro himself. True, he had originally questioned her on whether or not Aro had sent her down there, though really, it didn't matter either way: Sulpicia was _never_ to be questioned.

"You may wait outside," she said to Felix once inside the cell.

Felix tensed. Normally, he would've obeyed without question, but wasn't comfortable leaving the fragile old vampires alone with a younger vampire—Aro's vengeance would know no bounds if she got so much a scratch on her. "I'm afraid I cannot, milady."

Sulpicia sighed, knowing that Aro's orders regarding her protection were the one thing above even her authority, and thus she would not be able to get Felix to leave. Not that she thought that the smaller vampire currently as still as a statue could really do any harm to her, but she knew that Felix would give up his life trying to protect her, and she was more obliged to appreciate that rather than combat it.

"Suit yourself," she said, stepping forward and gazing down at Maggie. The small female vampire, on the other hand, gave no visible response, not even to look up. "State your name," Sulpicia commanded.

Maggie remained silent.

Felix and Demetri's rage increased. How _dare_ she ignore a direct command from their most powerful and respected mistress?! She deserved to die on the spot!

"Milady, I—"

Sulpicia held up a finger for silence. "Leave her be if she wishes to remain silent. What I have come to communicate must be heard, not responded to."

Felix resumed a pillar-like position, but his body remained tense.

Sulpicia leaned down until she and Maggie were almost eye-level, yet although the old vampire gazed directly into the eyes of the younger one, she knew that Maggie was not really seeing her, that her mind was elsewhere. It was a bit strange, actually, how she could bear to stay so calm when another vampire was so near—shouldn't her natural instincts at least tense her up in defense?

"I know you are soon going to submit to us, my dear," she said. "Aro knows it too. I have come to advise you that it is better to follow along in Aro's plan; he only wants what is best for the world."

Something stirred behind Maggie's eyes and she blinked, taking in the vampire before her for the first time. Felix raised an eyebrow in slight interest, seeing as this was the girl's first visible reaction to anything in days.

"You don't really believe that. You're lying," she said.

"Why you little—!"

"Felix, if you are unable to control your temper, then leave, now!" Sulpicia snapped, her eyes fierce, though never leaving Maggie's. "Or, if you can behave yourself, then you may remain, but not one more word out of you, understood?"

Felix clenched his fists, but gave a grim nod. His eyes too rested on Maggie now, though this time with something like a promise that, as soon as his mistress left, he would give the girl due retribution for the words she had spoken.

"Now then, what were you saying?" Sulpicia asked, innocently blinking at Maggie.

Maggie blinked back just as innocently. "I said that you're a liar: you don't really believe that Aro only wants what's best for the world. Like Aro, I'm sure you _want_ to believe that, but it simply isn't true."

"And what is the truth, my dear?"

Maggie kept her mouth firmly closed. This was what they wanted, she knew, to get her to start using her power at their command. First it would be with something small, personal, and unnoticeable, and then something more and more, until finally, she'd be doing exactly what Aro wanted. This time, to block Sulpicia out completely, Maggie closed her eyes.

Leaning back, the old vampire nodded. "Very well. I understand." And this time, to Maggie's surprise, she wasn't lying.

Shortly after Sulpicia left, Jane and Alec came to relieve Felix and Demetri of the watch. But while Demetri was more than keen to go, Felix insisted on staying, sending Jane away with the message that she may tell whatever she liked to Aro.

Turning to Maggie once they were alone in the cell, Alec choosing to stand guard from further down the hallway than directly at the door, Felix openly bared his teeth at her, sneering. "How _dare_ you speak that way to our most revered mistress? Do you have any idea to whom you were openly so impertinent?!"

"To one of the wives," Maggie replied, deciding that there was no harm in conversation for now. After Sulpicia had arrived and interrupted her concentration, Maggie's temporary trance was broken, and now she was more aware of things than she would have liked to be after a period of seven days without blood. Her throat was burning hotter than ever.

"Aro's mate, the Lady Sulpicia, to be exact," Felix snarled. "And you're to show her only respect—she deserves nothing less!"

"You are telling the truth, which to me seems strange," Maggie commented, surprised at the causality of her comment in itself.

Felix's sneer still remained, although his eyes had softened just a little in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Maggie's body remained still, but meanwhile her eyebrows furrowed, showcasing a look of equal confusion. "Of everyone here, you're one of the only ones to truly believe everything you say, to tell the truth entirely until now. Your thoughts, words, and concerns are all genuine, and you have not once told a lie to anyone. Not like Demetri, or Jane, or Chelsea, or even Aro, who all have told more lies than I can count."

Felix ignored her disrespectful mention of Aro, trying to keep his temper under control now that he finally got her talking after so many days. Not that he thought that he could have any more success with her than Sulpicia had, but now that the opportunity presented itself, maybe he should try?

"The thin line between truth and lie has never been more slight than it is now—what difference is there between the two anymore?" he asked.

Maggie's brow remained furrowed. "I don't know. But I can feel it."

 _Uh-huh_. Felix would have made a further comment, perhaps inquired more as to the specifics of her power, find useful information for Aro to use, but in the next moment Jane was back, with the very specific command that he was to leave his post and eat, then take on the next shift at a later time. Eyeing the little blonde monster warily as she entered the cell in his place, Felix cast one more glance at Maggie, who had once resumed complete stoicism, and left.

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 **Author's Note : Yay, another chapter's out, finally! Anyways, just to mention, if not following the story or favouriting it, at least a review or two would really get me motivated to right more! So, if you like the story, or even if you're just reading it, please at least review! ^^'**


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